EXCLUSIVE: The indie thriller will see Susan Sarandon play a small town Canadian detective who investigates the murder of an elderly woman, which leads her to a serial killer driven by a higher calling. Topher Grace is the ambitious police officer recently transferred from Toronto who becomes the detective’s right-hand man. Also aboard are Gil Bellows as a seasoned detective on Sarandon’s team, Donald Sutherland as a priest tapped to help the investigation, Christopher Heyerdahl as the killer, known only as Simon and Ellen Burstyn as Sarandon’s mother.

The Calling was adapted by Scott Abramovitch from Inger Ash Wolfe’s novel and will be directed by Jason Stone (Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse), with production getting underway this week. Christine Vachon of Killer Films is exec producing with Jonathan Bronfman for JoBro Productions. Randy Manis of Manis Films, Nicholas Tabarrok of Darius Films, and Abramovich and Lonny Dubrofsky of Breaking Ball Films are producing. Both actors appear together in Lionsgate’s ensemble The Big Wedding, which is due out April 26. Sarandon, repped by ICM Partners, just wrapped The Last Of Robin Hood starring Kevin Kline and Dakota Fanning. She also starred in Arbitrage alongside Richard Gere. Grace, repped by ICM Partners and Brillstein Entertainment Partners, recently finished work on romantic comedy A Many Splintered Thing starring Chris Evans, Michelle Monaghan and Aubrey Plaza. He also starred in Paul Weitz’s play Lonely, I’m Not.